It’s not too often that you find a team full of talented underclassmen on the varsity club that make a difference. In fact, it’s rather rare, but Hopedale Baseball Coach Josh Cresenzi had such a team this past season with three freshmen and an eighth grader, contributing on a regular basis.
“We usually carry one freshman each year on our team, but to have so many this year and all playing vital roles is unheard of,” the Blue Raider skipper said. “We lost nine seniors so I knew that there were going to be some holes, but I didn’t expect the younger guys to be the one taking on the responsibilities and filling them.”
Gracing the varsity with their talent were freshmen John McDonough, Sean Ryan and Alex Luccini as well as eighth grader Will Parker. Unfortunately McDonough, a left-handed pitcher, only got into two games before being shelved due to a back injury.
“John is a three sport athlete and we were looking at him to begin the season pitching in relief and possibly be a third starter later on,” the Coach said. “He had pitched great in his first relief stint in our first game, but then found he was having some back issues caused during the basketball season.”
Although only getting to see a handful of games for Hopedale, McDonough is working hard and looking to get back onto the mound next spring. While a relief pitcher this season the freshman lefty is going to have to step his game up and find a role as a starting pitcher for the Blue Raiders.
In the field Parker saw action as the starting second baseman, while Luccini was the opening day catcher and never relinquished that job; Ryan started 90% of Hopedale’s games at third.
Cresenzi was originally unsure who was going to start behind the plate, but Luccini definitely out performed his opponents and earned the starting position as well as putting up some numbers at the plate.
“For the past two year we’ve had senior catchers; one and done,” Cresenzi said. “Alex stood out in blocking balls and we want any past ball this year. We told him just keep the balls in front of him everything else he does this year is extra. He had an all-around unbelievable year and was in the top three of every offensive category.”
As a rookie catcher Luccini has quickly earned the trust of his senior pitching staff as well as the coaches who let him call the game. In addition to his defensive handy work behind the plate the freshman also had 25 hits, batted .454 from the fifth spot.
In the field Ryan was a big surprise. According to the coach, he was not pegged to be the starting third baseman, but when the opening day starter went down in the second game and needed shoulder surgery Ryan was ready.
“He’s all baseball and hungry for the game. I originally figured that he’d get a few games in here and there,” Cresenzi said. “It took him a couple of games to adjust but once he did he was our guy the rest of the way.”
Once Ryan had rid himself of the butterflies he went out and played, making some big league plays.
“You have to be fearless too play third, it’s not called the hot corner for nothing,” the Coach said.
Hitting in the ninth whole Ryan hit .240 once the season ended, but he had his struggles at the beginning. As a freshman he played this summer for the Milford Legion team.
Rounding out the underclassmen who made a name for themselves on the varsity roster this past season was Parker, an athlete not even in high school as of yet. Despite his young age he made the transition to playing second base on the varsity squad quite nicely.
“He has natural baseball ability and he’s handled what has come his way with relative ease,” the Blue Raider coach said. “He was used primarily for defense, not his hitting as much (Parker was 4-14 at the plate). He did provide us with great base running ability and can only get better.”
Cresenzi and his staff knew that these four underclassmen were going to be able to help the team down the road, never n their wildest dreams that they would be such an intrical part of this season.
“We were hoping to get them some experience this year. The fact that they started and then got two games of experience in tournament games was unbelievable,” Cresenzi said. “They now know what it takes to win a league title as well as take part in the playoffs. They’ll enter next season with a knowledge of how to approach the game in order for the team to be successful.”
The Blue Raiders finished the regular season with the help of the underclassmen at 11-7 earning themselves a 10 seed in the Division 4 Central Baseball Tournament, while finishing in second place in the Dual Valley Conference. During the first round Hopedale upset Tahanto 2-0 before falling to the number two seed Littleton 6-5 in the Quarter Finals. Littleton went onto lose to Oxford in the Championship.
Issue Date:
August, 2018
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